The sun blazed overhead.
Artoria and Enkidu lay on beach chairs beneath a parasol. They watched Wu Ling, who sat cross legged beneath the sunlight while absorbing his Spirit Ring. Enkidu said, "Do you think leaving Master out in the sun like that is a little cruel?"
Behind her sunglasses, Artoria's eyes shifted. She glanced at Enkidu, then said with a blank face, "If you want to go hold an umbrella over him, I will not stop you. What interests me more is why you would think of that in the first place."
Enkidu silently looked at Wu Ling's back, as if he had fallen into some memory. Then he lifted his gaze toward the endless ocean and explained, "It is nothing. I only sensed something from him, or rather, from the throne inside him. How should I put it..."
Before Enkidu could finish, a sudden pressure surged from Wu Ling's body. The moment they felt it, Enkidu and Artoria both turned toward him with grave expressions.
"This sensation... there is no mistake. It is a god," Artoria said. Even her calm composure rippled under that pressure.
Enkidu gave his own judgment. "Yes. And judging from the scale of that Saint Graph, it may not be much weaker than First Hassan."
Only a few words passed between them before Wu Ling opened his eyes.
"I did not expect this one. Ibuki Douji. But it makes sense. In my memory, only Grands, Lostbelt Kings, and Beasts reach this kind of scale.
"A Beast is basically impossible. Among the remaining possibilities, the ones connected to the ocean are Super Orion and Ibuki Douji. If I consider compatibility with the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, a creature that can be called a calamity, then Ibuki Douji fits better."
Ibuki Douji was another name for Shuten Douji. Born in a way that should not naturally occur, she had come into the world as an oni child, grown in the mountains, and eventually gained terrifying abnormal power. She possessed a dense divine nature and a strong self awareness as part of nature itself, part of the world.
The Ibuki Douji Wu Ling had summoned was the version from FGO Chapter 2.5.5. Although that chapter was only a Singularity, Ibuki Douji's role in the story stood close to that of a Lostbelt King. As for the story's claim that she could stand beside the Greek gods, Handsome Aries kept some reservations on that point.
"Strong is strong, though. At the very least, she is not weaker than First Hassan from my eighth Spirit Ring. One is an assassin, the other a warrior. They pair well. Part of that strength comes from the huge Saint Graph, but looking at it from the other side, being able to contain such a huge Saint Graph is also a form of power."
After thinking for a moment, Wu Ling withdrew the pressure. The throne appeared, and a summoning circle unfolded before him. He intended to meet Ibuki Douji first.
A short while later, a small girl with a human head and a serpent's lower body appeared before Wu Ling.
"I am Ibuki Douji. So, you are the so called Master? I see. Yes. If you do not want to die, you would be wise to curry favor with me now. After I shed this form, I will not be as interested in playing with people."
The moment she finished speaking, Wu Ling stepped forward and pinched her cheeks.
"Hm. She feels strangely cute."
Ibuki Douji was only around one point three meters tall in this form, barely reaching Wu Ling's stomach. But Wu Ling knew that if her tail were counted, her full body length would be close to two meters.
Ibuki Douji shook off Wu Ling's hand and resisted, "Ugh. I am Ibuki Douji. Even if you are Master, you cannot be this rude."
Then Wu Ling felt a portion of his Spirit Power vanish. The next moment, the Ibuki Douji before him evolved. No, ascended. She shifted into her second ascension.
"I finally manifest, and the world has changed completely... Well, that is fine. By the way, you are Master, but you are quite strong."
As she spoke, Ibuki Douji's eyes narrowed while she stared at Wu Ling. It was the gaze of a snake fixing on prey.
The next second, her nose twitched. Her eyes lit up at once as she looked toward the wine cup in Artoria's hand.
"Oh, there is wine? Then everything is easy to discuss!"
Ibuki Douji was just about to rush over when Wu Ling stopped her. Before she could ask why, he took out a barrel of wine and set it before her.
"Ha ha. How generous."
Ibuki Douji patted Wu Ling on the shoulder. Then she lifted the half person tall barrel in one hand and drank it down in gulps as easily as an ordinary person drinking from a small bottle.
"Mm. Good wine. Also, sorry. I was staring at you just now. I have a snake's nature, so I stare at prey. Of course, that is only a joke. A joke. No, perhaps not entirely a joke. I have remembered you now. Eating this sacrifice may be somewhat difficult..."
Wu Ling said nothing more. He silently took out two more barrels of wine. He had plenty of this in his storage space.
Each of them took one barrel. They knocked the barrels together one handed, then drank them dry in one pull.
"Wa ha ha. You are a good Master. It has been a long time since I had a companion who could pour wine for me. Mm. Pouring wine might be old fashioned, but I am an ancient god, so old fashioned is correct."
Wu Ling smiled and waved again. Four more barrels appeared, which made Ibuki Douji's smile grow even brighter.
Before they could start drinking freely, Wu Ling's expression shifted slightly. Rose had contacted him. Rose only contacted him when something major happened.
Wu Ling kept drinking with Ibuki Douji without showing anything on his face while he received Rose's message.
"Original, according to information from Hassan of the Hundred Personas, the personas hidden outside Slaughter City and on Sea God Island have reported that both forces left their original locations at the same time. They are all flying toward Spirit City.
"After comparison, their strength seems to have risen a fair amount in a very short time. I suspect Asura God and Sea God have intervened."
After receiving all the information, Wu Ling glanced upward without making it obvious. He gave a faint smile.
"Slaughter City and Sea God Island. So those two really cannot hold back anymore. Good. I was just thinking it would be troublesome to find them myself."
"Hey, Master, any more? Bring a few more barrels."
In that short time, the four barrels before Wu Ling and Ibuki Douji had already been emptied.
Wu Ling did not refuse. They were only two gods. He no longer feared them.
He took out several more barrels.
"Come on. Keep drinking!"